


a melody of two lives

by a_wonderingmind



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: F/M, MFMM Flashfic Challenge, University AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:27:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27437335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_wonderingmind/pseuds/a_wonderingmind
Summary: Professor Fisher is stuck watching students who have been evicted from their accommodation for the night. Professor Robinson is a welcome compatriot, and has a hidden skill up his sleeve.
Relationships: Phryne Fisher/Jack Robinson
Comments: 9
Kudos: 46
Collections: Miss Fisher's Flashfic Challenge Heat 2





	a melody of two lives

**Author's Note:**

> Just under the line, phew!
> 
> Prompts for this one are university AU and the words are violin, sleep, window. Props to lechatnoir, who provided the mental image for this in one of her Inktober drawings! (If I have time, I'll come back and link it later, it's wonderful!)

Professor Phryne Fisher was not going to be able to sleep at all tonight. Not that she’d been expecting to sleep much anyway, what with the less than ideal circumstances in which she found herself.

A storm drain had flooded near the university and made the whole grounds of the central building, not to mention some of the student accommodation, one enormous floodplain. And her car definitely would not have made it out, trapping her here, and extending her availability long past the point in the evening where she would have liked to be available.

Which is how she found herself on shift with Professor Robinson, watching over the evicted students in the second floor of the music department, in order to ‘maintain propriety, and make sure that nothing untowards happens’ - orders from the Vice-Chancellor personally. 

She was of the opinion that the students were adults, and they deserved at least a modicum of trust placed in them that they would not embarrass themselves, especially for one night, but university politics had to be played if she was to keep her position. It was precarious enough that she chose to enter the relatively new discipline of Sociology, but on top of that she was also a woman, interested in studying women. Sometimes she envied those with a safe research specialism in an established subject - like Professor Robinson, Jack, he had asked her to call him, after a late night whiskey in her office. He taught on European Literature, though his interest in German poets had landed him in hot water for a couple of years. No, she supposed, life wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. 

Speaking of, where was he? They had agreed on a two hours on, two hours off schedule, and, she thought, looking at the clock, it was about time for him to come and take his post as the protector of (arguably doubtful) virtue. Looking out over the room, the twenty or so students all seemed to be asleep, so she judged it reasonable that she could leave the room to search for him. 

The fire by the chair cast a warm glow over the room, and she bemoaned the lack of warmth in the corridor as she stepped out, the slivers of moonlight through the shutters only adding to the impression of the chill. It reminded her of cold nights in her bed, trying to share as much warmth with her sister as she could. Shaking the memories loose, she took a last glance back at the students, and let a vaguely maternal feeling wash over her. It was not something that happened often, but she attributed it to the sincere wish for all of her students to achieve their greatest imaginings.

Wrapping her arms around her, she plunged into the darkness of the hallway, feet padding softly on the runner. She didn't know where Prof- Jack might be, but she could hear vague strainings of a violin coming from the other end, so she started in that direction.

She tapped lightly on the last door she came to, and the note came to a sharp stop as he turned to face her. 

“Oh, I’m sorry - could you hear me?”

She shook her head gently, rather captured by the picture he made, backlit by the unshuttered window and the full moon behind him; one hand on the neck of the violin and the bow on the other, an apologetic and slightly embarrassed look on his face, just about visible in the light of the room.

“That was Moonlight Sonata, wasn’t it?”

He dipped his head in acquiescence, and motioned out the window with the bow. “It seemed appropriate,” he said, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

“I didn’t know you could play,” she said quietly, unwilling to break the soft atmosphere that had descended.

He switched his bow to the other hand and lifted it to scratch the back of his head. “It was pressed into my hand at the age of 10, and I found I quite enjoyed it,” he chuckled. “It’s something to concentrate on when my mind is too full to sleep,”

“You play very well.” she whispered.

He looked at her in a way she couldn’t quite discern the meaning of, and she fell into the depths of his eyes. Suddenly he started, as if remembering that staring at your colleague in a low lit room wasn’t the done thing.

“What did you want me for? Have I been neglecting the students of my watchful eye?” he said, eyes twinkling as if he knew exactly what she thought of the whole assignment.

Refinding her balance, she replied - “Ah, yes, it’s your turn. I started a fire, if you want to come out of the cold,”

“Thank you, I just might,” he smiled at her again, and she felt the corners of her mouth tick up in response.

“Right, well, um, yes. Is it okay if I stay in the room and try to sleep there? I don’t fancy my chances with only blankets out here,”

“Of course,” he said warmly, “just let me put this back and I’ll be there in a second,” 

It was barely a minute after her that he reappeared in the room, and took the wide seat opposite her, shedding his jacket in a move that spoke of easy friendship, and it warmed her heart to see it.

A shiver went through her as she touched her hands to her neck; they were cold as ice. He watched her curl up in the armchair, tucking her feet into her body, with an eyebrow raised, amused.

“Oh, c’mere,”

Her head whipped up in surprise. His eyes widened for just a second, then he looked away. She wasn’t entirely sure in the orange light of the fire, but a blush might have crept across his cheeks.

“Uh, I, I mean, only if you want to, Phryne, of course I didn’t mean to overstep,”

“Um, no, it’s alright. I would like to, if you don’t mind,”

“Of course! I offered, didn’t I?” he smiled, and patted the space beside him.

She crawled over, and tucked her feet next to his thigh, leaning into him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He enveloped both of her hands into his bigger ones, and pressed gently, holding her close to his body heat. 

“Do try and sleep,” he whispered into her hair, “it won’t do us any good tomorrow for both of us to be sleep deprived,”

“Mmm,” she replied, her eyes already slipping shut, “they’ll all be hungry in the morning,”

“That they will,” he chuckled.

“I’ll move in a minute,” she murmured, “it’s just so.. warm… here by the fire,” 

“Isn’t it,” he replied, seemingly also somewhere else. He lay his head on top of hers, and she let her eyes close, just for a minute…

It definitely wasn’t just a minute, as she was woken by soft movement in front of her, which turned out to be Jane, one of her final year students, laying a blanket over their sleeping forms, blocking the sun that was weakly streaming through the shutters.

“So much for propriety, eh Professor?” she grinned, a wicked smile on her face.

At her wide eyed look, Jane softened. “It’s just me awake; your secret is safe, it’s between you and me,”

“Make sure it stays that way,” she glared at her, a smile betraying her true affections.

“Cross my heart, Professor,” Jane grinned back.

“Mmhm,” Phryne said, and laughed at the wink she got from Jane as she crossed the room back to her bed.

Jack was still asleep, but he was very endearing so, she thought.

Now that was a thought she needed to keep to herself. She’d come back to it later, but for now she would just enjoy the quiet warmth.


End file.
